Rufai Oseni

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

I have restrained myself from penning this piece for months because I wanted to let the sleeping dogs lie.

But I have had a change of mind. Indeed, like Maya Angelou, the idea for writing this piece is so that “people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.”

Now to cut to the chase, I was a guest at the popular television magazine programme, The Morning Show, on Arise TV, sometime in 2019 on the invitation of Ugo Aliogo, a staff of ThisDay newspaper, which is also owned by The Duke Prince Nduka Obaigbena.

By the way, I’m a journalist with over two decades experience under my belt and have reported everything from business, economy, politics, health, judiciary, agribusiness, aviation, ICT, to mention just a few, and also teach journalism on the side in one of the private polytechnics around.
So, naturally, I usually get invited to talkshows, newspaper review segments across TV and radio stations, to share my perspectives on sundry issues around any subject-matter that falls within my ken.

Expectedly, when Ugo broached the idea of my appearance on the programme to speak on the economics of the drying of the Lake Chad basin I fobbed him off because I didn’t think myself knowledgeable enough to speak on the subject-matter. But, then, when he said all I needed to do was some simple analyses and some extrapolations here and there, I obliged.

On the appointed date, I arrived at the Ikoyi office of Arise TV and was treated to a cup of coffee prepared by a white lady, who looked like a Filipino alright.

I was still sipping my coffee when Dr. Reuben Abati, one of the anchors on the programme, left the studio and moments later The Duke himself sauntered in.
Soon I was signalled to go into the studio where Rufai Oseni and two other ladies whose names I can’t recollect now were my host.

With the exchange of random banalities over, we soon got to the crux of the matter; which as I mentioned earlier was a focus on the economic impact of the drying of the Lake Chad basin and the humanitarian crisis it has left in its wake, especially across the eight countries sharing borders with the lake including Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Central African Republic, Chad, Algeria, Libya and Sudan.

Having done proper desk research, I know I didn’t disappoint during the Q and A session.
But the turning point came when Rufai suddenly had a brainwave and veered off completely out of the subject-matter to not just discuss about President Paul Kigame of Rwanda but attempted a comparative analysis with the-then President Muhammadu Buhari.

He went on and on about how the dudes were both dictators practicing pseudo democracy and all.

Like a chatterbox, he went on and on seemingly taking over the discussion with me as a mere spectator.

But, thankfully, I had only just a few months back returned from a visit to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and saw firsthand how the once war-torn country was now a true model of how other African countries should be like in terms of socioeconomic growth and development.

I immediately seized the moment and literally took him on a real journey of discovery and in the process I schooled him thoroughly about developments in Rwanda and for which he thanked me profusely at the end of the programme and even saw me off the studio himself.

Tell you what, if I hadn’t been to the famous City of a Thousand Hills, Rufai would just have succeeded in pulling the wools over my eyes or even use me to ‘shine’ in a manner of speaking.

What I’m driving at with the above short anecdote, of course, is to let the world know that Rufai Oseni may be brilliant in his own way but one thing clearly stands out about him – he chooses every opportunity to spill bile and hatred towards any perceived enemy of his and he’s ready to use anyone as a canon fodder to achieve that aim.

Some people have branded his style as adversarial and developmental journalism put together. But I call it simply ‘bolekaja’ journalism, warts and all. And that doesn’t sound right by any standard. This is not the kind of journalism one can bequeath to a mentee, mbok!

Oftentimes than not, Rufai uses bully tactics, reverse psychology, propaganda and even adopts ad hominem fallacies to canvass his arguments all because of his penchant for criticism-for-criticism-sake.

Having watched him closely, I daresay that Rufai lacks the true character portraiture of who a true journalist ought to be.

For emphasis, anyone who professes to be a journalist must understand the finer points of journalism which are anchored on objectivity and not subjectivity, balance, equity and fairness at all times.

Rufai, oftentimes, comes across as someone highly opinionated, abrasive, talkative, petty, and downright childish!
But on a second thought methinks whatever he does may be deliberate too or what else would make a so-called professional act rather unprofessionally as he’s wont to do most times?

Perhaps, he’s being goaded on by his puppet masters for their own selfish aggrandizement, who knows, for political gains or to curry favours?

But shouldn’t there be a limit to even madness itself because it’s only madness that could make someone drum the beats of war when there’s no reason absolutely for that.

Elections are over and a winner has clearly emerged with the final pronouncement by the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court, affirming President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be in the saddle for the next four years.

Even _Oga_ Abati has left him behind. Can’t he take a cue from him?

All said, what is not in doubt at all is that Rufai lacks emotional intelligence and this adversely affects the totality of whatever he is bringing to the table.

Thankfully, he’s amenable to change and as a very ambitious young man, which I think he’s, he can learn, unlearn and relearn the ropes of good journalism since that is where his passion lies.

Here’s my one kobo advice to him– he needs to work on his emotions very seriously and take some fresher courses on interview techniques (I’m willing to conduct a masterclass on interview techniques with him pro bono).

In the interim, I will recommend some reading texts for Rufai: Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman, Expert tips for success with journalistic interviewing by Peter Laufer of the University of Oregon, What Makes a Great Interview? Malcolm Gladwell’s 7 Tips, Tips For Conducting Meaningful Interviews by Jeanette Abrahamsen, etcetera.

From a senior colleague to another: I wish him a wonderful career ahead.